That was the day Hammond, then a junior at Boardman (Ohio) High School, shattered his right ankle in the second game of the season.

Doctors told him football might not be an option.

"I was on crutches for three months," Hammond said, "had six screws and a plate put in."

Hammond returned to put together a record-setting senior season at Boardman but more problems with the ankle, as well as a thumb injury, helped relegate him to the sideline for his first two years at UW.

The 6-foot-5, 216-pounder enjoyed a breakthrough last week in UW's loss at Nebraska when he recorded his first reception, a difficult, leaping effort for a 30-yard gain.

"Chase made a big-time catch," offensive coordinator Matt Canada said. "You get more playing time when you produce.

"He has been able to practice more, so you can see it in practice. And for a quarterback, you want to see the way it is going to look."

The question now: Can Hammond build off that, continue to work hard and give the corps of inexperienced wide receivers another threat beginning Saturday against Illinois?

"I told the coaches it is do or die for me," said Hammond, who showed promise in the spring game with four catches for 48 yards and a touchdown. "I've been hanging out for a while up here. I'm kind of tired of that. I'm ready to play."

Hammond is part of a group of untested players jockeying for playing time to complement the work of redshirt junior Jared Abbrederis.

The next three wide receivers - Jordan Fredrick, Kenzel Doe and Jeff Duckworth - have combined for 22 receptions, 217 yards and no touchdowns.

"They all have different skill sets and that is what I am trying to get out of them right now," Azzanni said. "You see them all in there, doing different things, certain things they are good at.

"Abby is the overall guy who can do a lot of those things. . . . We're trying to move guys around and getting them to be successful. I think that is what good coaches do.

"It has been working so far and they've been steadily improving."

Hammond, who set school records for receptions (67) and receiving yards (986) as a senior at Boardman, was up and down in the spring and again during preseason camp.

"I may not always have the best practices but that is what practice is for, to get better," he said. "When everybody is there, it counts. That's when it is time to make plays."

Head coach Bret Bielema thought Hammond was poised to play well in Week 4 against Texas-El Paso.

"He was having a really good week in (practice) and then towards the end of the week his foot got sore," Bielema said.

Hammond practiced well last week and then competed hard in the loss to the Cornhuskers.

"Last week he kept getting stronger as the week wore on," Bielema said. "The good news was he came out of Saturday's game . . . and he feels 100% fine. Hopefully, we're over that hurdle and move forward."

Hammond's set of hurdles began his junior season at Boardman.

"The first injury involved broken bones and a dislocation," he said. "The whole nine yards."

Before his senior season, he underwent a second surgery on the ankle to have several of the screws taken out.

After redshirting at UW in 2010, he suffered a broken thumb during spring 2011.

Then two days into camp that summer, with his ankle still bothering him, Hammond underwent a third surgery.